Lock



1 7 H. A. DOUGLAS LOCK Original Filed Oct. 26, 1925 Patented Feb. 1, 1927.

I sTATEs HARRY A. DOUGLAS, 0]? BRONSON, MICHIGAN.

LOCK.

Original application filed October 26, 1925, Serial 110.. 64,897. Divided and. this application filed July My invention relates to looks and particularly to a lock employing a rotatable tubular member, an enclosing shell or guard, and key-controlled tumblers within the tubular member, the present application being a division of my original application Serial No. 6 1,897, filed October 26, 1925.

The invention has for its general object the provision of means for positioning the lo tumblers in their locking and unlocking adjustments and also the provision of a locking bar or member common to the tumblers and positioned by the tumblers into locking position and permitted by the tumblers to assume a locking position, according to the adjustment of the tumblers, whereby the tumblers are relieved of direct locking engagement with the enclosing shell or guard.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the tumblers are rotatable by the key, in being inserted, to align recesses that are formed in the peripheries of the tumblers and to bring the aligned recesses into register with the slot that is provided in the tubular member. A locking bar is carried by the tubular member in its slot and is projectable into the slot provided in the surrounding shell by the cam action of the tumblers thereon when the key is being withdrawn, the locking bar still remaining partially within the slot of the tubular member so that the tubular member is held from rotation after the withdrawal of the key. In this locking adjustment of the looking bar, the recesses in the tumblers are staggered, a result which occurs in the withdrawal of the key, whereby the tumblers hold the locking bar in looking adjustment.

The invention will be more fully explained in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a diametrical sectional view of a combined lighting and ignition au tomobile switch,- so equipped with a lock of my invention that the ignition portion of this switch may be locked or unlocked, the lighting portion of the switch being capable of operation independently of the ignition portion of the switch; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the inner end of the lock and contiguous parts; Fig. 4 is a view on a larger scale illustrating the lock with the key therein, the lock being then in unlocking adjustment; 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig 4: Fig 6 is a sectional view on line Serial No. 123,955.

66 of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a View similar to Fig. 6 but showing the tubular member of the lock in one of the positions to which it may be turned by the fully inscrtedkey; and Fig. 8 is a side view of the key alone.

The switch illustrated, will be first described, in order that the illustrated use of the improved lock may be understood.

The switch casing has an end wall 1 and a side wall 2, the wall 1 being essentially fiat and the wall Qbeing cylindrical. A mounting plate 3 is disposed over the end wall and upon the exterior of the casing beyond which the end plate laterally projects. A handle 4; has a hub portion 5 formed with flanges 6 that are confined in a space afiorded between the plate 3 and easing wall 1, a construction that defines for the handle an axis of turning movement which is coincident with the axis of the switch casing. In switches of this type, which are well known in the art, the handle has continuations, not shown, extending through arcuate slots in the casing wall 1 that are coaxial with the casing and the handle, these continuations being coupled with a ring 7 of insulation. This ring is in actuating relation with contacts 8 that are arranged to be moved into and out of engagement with contacts 9 which pertain to tbhle various lighting circuits of an automo- Another insulating ring 10 is surrounded by the ring 7 andmay also be turned to open and close the ignition circuit of the automobile equipped with the switching mechanism.

The ring 10 is provided with a lock whereby the ignition circuit may be locked open, the portion of the switching mechanism governing the lighting circuit being operable at all times independently of the portion of the switching mechanism that governs the ignition switch. The drawing illustrates the use of a lock of my invention in controlling the ignition portion of the switching mechanism. The lock illustrated is inclusive of a tubular member 11 formed with a flattened inner extension 12 receivable inaslot 13, constituting the bore of the ring 10. Through the intermediation of mechanism hereinafter described. the tubular member 11 may be turned by a key 14 inserted through the circular opening 15 formed in the inturned outer end of the tubular member. A shell 16. constituting the preferred form of lock guard. surrounds the tubular member ll and is fixedly mounted upon the end wall 1 of the switch casing by means of tongues 17 carried by and projecting inwardly from the shell and clinched over the inner surface of the casing wall 1, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. The tubular member 11 is formed with a slot 18 in its side and theshell is formed with a slot 19 in its side, said slots being positioned to be brought into and out of register upon turning ofthe tubular member. A radially movable locking bar 20 is I carried by the tubular member in its slot and is partially receivable in the slot formed in the shell, when the two slots are in register and the locking bar is moved outwardly upon the withdrawal of the key 14: more fully appear. Annular rotatable tumblers 21, are arranged in the tubular member 11 coaxial therewith, the bores of these tumblers being aligned to constitute a cylindrical receiving passage way for the key. Each of these tumblers is formed with a peripheral recess, 22 and a ward 23. The wards and recesses in the difi'erent tumblers are preferably located at different distances apart so therecesses will be in staggered relation when the key is withdrawn. The key is desirably formed from a metal strip folded back upon itself and with two adjacent longitudinal edge portions shaped to form 'a sinuous slot 24 providing wards 25 that are engageable with the wards'23. As

the key is inserted, the inter-engaging wards 23 and 25 cause the tumblers 21 to turn in succession, the relation of the wards upon the key and lock being such that the recesses 22 are ultimately brought .into line when the key is fully inserted. These recesses are so located that, when they are aligned, they are collectively in parallelism with the slots.

'Prior to the insertion of the key, the recesses f 22 are staggered so that the locking bar 20 is then certainly to be held by unrecessed portion of the tumblers in its outermost adjustment in which it'not only continues to be received in the slot 18in the tubular 'member' 11 but is also projected intotthe slot 19 of the shell 16 whereby the tubularmember'is held from rotation.

In the use illustrated, the switching 'member 10 being connected with the tubular member 11, 15 held from rotation when the ignition circuit is open. When the recesses 22 have been brought into alignment by the fully inserted key, the tumblers 21 may be collectively turnedto bring the aligned recesses 22 into register with the slot 18 to perwit the locking bar 20 to be received in the aligned recesses. These recesses are of a size to receive the inner longitudinal side of the locking bar and of a depth to prevent the inward movement of the locking bar out of the slot in the tubular member 11 and to permit the inwardly moved locking bar to escape the shell, thereby freeing the tubular as will the tumblers when it is received in the aligned recesses 22 when the lock is open so that the key can not be withdrawn when the lock is open, if such an arrangement be desired. In order to withdraw the key, the tumblers have to be collectively turned to place the locking bar in register with the slot 18; When the locking bar has been thus placed, the key may be withdrawn, the sides of the recesses 22 sloping so that as the tumblers the recessed sides that. are forced against the locking bar by the turning action of the key will ride upon the locking bar .and force it out of the recesses 22 vpartially into the slot 19. Thus when the key is withdrawn, the lock is closed and is maintained closed because the recesses 22.are in staggered relation when the key is withdrawn, the unrecessed portions of the tumblers engagin the inner side of the locking bar to hold itvin its outwardly it is received in' the locking slot 19.

The locking bar 20 is constrained to move are turned,

projecting position in which aligned and placed in register with the slot '18, the .bar will at once enter the, recesses. To thus constrain the locking bar, I desirably employ a leaf spring 26 anchored at' one end to the shell 16 and connected at its other end with a floating block 27 which is received in the outer portion of the slot 19 and which presses against the outer 'side of the locking bar 20 through theaction of the spring.

It will be seen that the locking bar 20 re-. lieves the tumblers 21 of any direct locklng' engagement with the shell 16. The tumblers, being comparatively delicate, are relieved of the heavy locking action by the bar, the tumblers serving merely .to position the bar, in locking. adjustment. I do not wish to be limited to the rotatable tumblers, in all embodiments of the invention, nor to 1 the action of eachtumbler in thrustin the locking bar into its outward and loclnn' g position, it being apparent that this latterfunction may be performed .by a portiononly of the tumblers.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 4 v

A lock including a tubular member 'formed with a slot in its side; a shell-yenclosing the tubular member and formed with a slot in its side, said slots being posi- A tioned to be brought into and out of register upon turning of the tubular member; a radially movable locking bar carried by the tubular member in its slot and partially. receivable in the slot in the shell upon outward movement of the locking bar when the slots are in register; rotatable tumblers in the tubular member formed with key-engageable'wards and having peripheral recesses located relatively to the wards to be aligned upon the insertion of a suitable key and to bestaggered upon Withdrawal of the key, said recesses being located so that when they are aligned, they are in parallelism with the slots, said tumb blers being rotatable by the inserted key and by the key in being withdrawn respectively to bring the aligned recesses into register with the slot in the tubular member, and

to stagger the recesses, a portion of the tumblers being in outward thrusting engagement with the locking bar when turned upon withdrawal of the key, said recesses being of a size to receive theinner longitudinal side of the locking bar and of a depth to prevent inward movement of the locking bar out of the slot in the tubularmember and to permit the inwardly moved locking bar to escape the shell; a second radially movable bar which is received in the slot inthe shell and which bears against the outer longitudinal side of the locking bar; and a spring pressing radially inward upon the second my name.

HARRY A. DOUGLAS.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe 

